1. Technical Field
The present disclosure is generally related to food processing devices, and more particularly, to a blade assembly for a hand-held food-processing device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hand-held, hand-powered food processors are known and all basically rotate a spindle to which is connected some form of cutting, beating, or mixing arms. Some of these processors use a hand crank for the drive to rotate the spindle. The Yip U.S. Pat. No. 5,996,483 is an example. These types of drives for the spindle are often expensive, lack torque, or do not give a long enough pulse of rotation to the spindle for effective action on the food to be processed.
The Yip patent, mentioned above, shows a garlic peeling and peanut shelling processor that uses a rigid beater to throw garlic at a series of vertical ribs spaced along the circumference of a retaining cylinder to break the skin of the garlic.
Application Ser. Nos. 09/839,027 and 11/361,061 provide hand-held food processors with improved drive mechanisms; however, these devices typically comprise a blade arrangement that is suboptimal with respect to gaining maximum momentum before confronting a food item. Furthermore, the blade is typically exposed after use.
Accordingly, there is a need for a hand-held food processor and a blade assembly that maximizes blade momentum for more effective processing of food items, and permits automatic rearrangement of blades into a configuration in which the blades can be covered without a user having to touch the blades.